HYDERABAD: The Central government has finally accorded permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute two senior IAS officers B P Acharya and L V Subrahmanyam who are accused in the Emaar scam case.
The two officers had presided over the affairs of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) from 2003 to 2010 during which period the APIIC entered into an agreement with Dubai-based Emaar company and Delhi-based MGF firm to develop about 535 acres of government land in Gachibowli area of Hyderabad. The deal ended in loss to the APIIC and undue gain to private players.
The CBI which probed the case made both Acharya and Subrahmanyam as accused in its chargesheet.
The prosecution in respect of them could not be taken up on account of they being public servants and a prior permission was required to prosecute them under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Though the CBI made a representation seeking permission from the Centre long ago, the latter took several months to grant permission. It is learnt that the respective state governments have blocked the CBI’s efforts in this regard. Finally, the Centre has now accorded permission to the probe agency to prosecute the two accused IAS officers.
The CBI will now convey the Centre’s decision to the CBI court in Hyderabad and urge it to take up the prosecution proceedings against the two officers. The CBI slapped cases under Sections 120-B of Indian Penal Code and Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) and Section 15 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
